For the past four years or so I have become more and more obsessed with tropical gardening. The tropical spark was ignited when I visited Will Giles’ garden in Norwich two weeks before he died and the garden was closed. I also got great inspiration from the World Garden at Lullingstone Castle, The Salutation tropical … More My tropical garden odyssey
The past week has been all about collections: Magnolia, Ophiopogon, Aspidistra and Geum. I consider myself a plant-a-holic (until someone silly trademarks that term), and have been collecting plants since I was a child. My first collections were of Sempervivum and cacti. It’s funny that my nephew also has this fascination with prickly succulents: I’m … More Collecting Aspidistra
Since I moved to East Kent, and closer to the coast, it seems my problems with vine weevil have increased. I wonder if it is the milder climate, the salty air, or just the higher amount of tough evergreens that can cope with the salt spray that makes these pests more prolific in this area. … More Vine weevil
Last week I went to The Netherlands. I went to see family and friends, but also wanted to buy plants which I could use in my tropical garden in Kent during the summer. As I will be opening for the NGS this year, I felt that was a good excuse to get some more unusual … More Plant buying trip to The Netherlands
At the moment I have quite a passion for Aspidistra. This houseplant has been around in this country since early Victorian times. It was first recorded by Kew Gardens in 1823, but it was named by John Ker Gawler in the year before, in 1822. For Victorians it was a sign of middle class stature … More The Aspidistra flies again
Perfection in leaf major In a previous article I mentioned a few plants with variegated leaves. It is funny as there was a time when I did not like variegation in plants at all. To me it all looked like a virus. I also used to hate ornamental grasses though, and now I have a … More Perfection in leaf major
Catch up with a fellow plant nut. When I worked at my previous job, sometimes I needed to escape the place and talk to someone who was at least as nutty about plants as I am. It was through Twitter I got in touch with Tom Hart-Dyke of Lullingstone Castle, and the World Garden. Tom … More Catch up with a fellow plant nut
Witch hazel nursery A few years ago I became a member of Plant Heritage. This organisation is all about the conservation of garden plants through National Plant Collections. I am Collections Coordinator for Kent, which is an amazing thing to do. I get to speak to other plant nuts about their collections and geek out … More Visit to the National Plant Collection of Hamamelis (Witch Hazel)
Retro houseplant revival. One of my first plant collections was succulents, which I started around the age of 8-9. We had a greenhouse, which my father built from scratch, that was big enough to hold my collection. Living stones (Lithops) and all sort of other spiky globe shaped cacti were enjoying the heat of the greenhouse. … More Retro houseplant revival
January. As a gardener I always find it difficult to get through January. The festive season seems long ago and the weather tends to be cold, wet and windy. However, it is also a good time to look at the nicer seasons ahead, browse seed and plant catalogues and reorganise the garden. I moved into … More January
Thoughts of a plant nut. 